UPI en Español  |   UPI Asia  |   About UPI  |   My Account
Search:
Go

People in the news

|
 
Jennifer Hudson performs at the Revlon Concert for the Rainforest Fund at Carnegie Hall in New York City on April 3, 2012. UPI/John Angelillo
Jennifer Hudson performs at the Revlon Concert for the Rainforest Fund at Carnegie Hall in New York City on April 3, 2012. UPI/John Angelillo 
License photo
Published: May 3, 2012 at 3:59 AM
By United Press International

The latest news on today's hottest celebrities ...

JENNIFER HUDSON: A handyman testified at William Balfour's triple homicide trial in Chicago that Jennifer Hudson's slain brother, Jason, made a living selling cocaine.

Balfour is the ex-husband of Jennifer's sister, Julia. He is charged with the shooting deaths of the sisters' mother and brother, as well as Julia's 7-year-old son.

The Chicago Tribune said witness Reginald Jones told the court Tuesday he frequently bought cocaine from the singer's brother and occasionally helped Jason handle customers who came to the Hudson family home to buy drugs.

Jones also said he caught Balfour spying on Julia, who was living with her mother, brother and son, just months before her three family members were killed.

Prosecutors have argued Balfour was angry at Julia because she asked for a divorce and had a new boyfriend, but Balfour's defense team has said Jason's drug-dealing exposed his loved ones to criminals and violence.


LADY GAGA: Lady Gaga has ended her 10-month romance with actor Taylor Kinney, a source close to the American pop star told UsMagazine.com Wednesday.

The insider said Lady Gaga, 26, and Kinney, 30, are "on a break."

"She will be touring non-stop until next year and has found she can't have relationship at the same time," the source told the magazine. "There's just no room for anything else. Her work is all-consuming."

Kinney is best known for his work on TV's "The Vampire Diaries."


REESE WITHERSPOON: U.S. first lady Michelle Obama and actress Reese Witherspoon have been named International Mothers of the Year for 2012, organizers said Wednesday.

Also enshrined in the Hall of Fame this year are Victoria Beckham, a singer and fashion designer; Lisa Belkin, a Huffington Post journalist; Stephanie Decker, an Indiana housewife and tornado survivor; Betty DeGeneres, author, activist and mother of talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres; Meredith Olafson, a North Dakota nurse and surrogate mother; Holly Robinson Peete, an actress and television host; Ann Romney, philanthropist and wife of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney; and Summer Sanders, an Olympic medalist.

The International Mothers Hall of Fame is a 45-year-old Texas non-profit that describes itself as being dedicated to "increasing respect and recognition for the first -- and often the most powerful -- influence of our lives."


ADRIAN PASDAR: USA Network says former "Heroes" cast member Adrian Pasdar has landed a role in "Political Animals," its Washington-set drama scheduled to premiere this summer.

Starring Sigourney Weaver, Ciaran Hinds, Carla Gugino and Ellen Burstyn, the six-episode series is to debut July 15.

The Hollywood Reporter said Pasdar will play Paul Garcetti, who defeated Weaver's former first lady character, Elaine, in the presidential primary and appointed her secretary of state.

Pasdar also stars on the TV show "The Lying Game."

Topics: William Balfour, Jennifer Hudson, Lady Gaga, Reese Witherspoon, Adrian Pasdar, Michelle Obama, Victoria Beckham, Ellen DeGeneres, Holly Robinson Peete, Mitt Romney, Sigourney Weaver, Ciaran Hinds, Carla Gugino, Ellen Burstyn
© 2012 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Order reprints
Join the conversation
Most Popular Collections
'Star Trek Into Darkness' screening NBC upfronts Met Ball 2013
'Great Gatsby' premieres in New York Spire raised on top of One WTC 2013: Celebrity break ups and divorces
Additional Entertainment News Stories
1 of 18
Greek PM Antonis vists Beijing
View Caption
Greek national flags fly over Tiananmen Square during Greece's Prime Minister Antonis Samaras state visit to Beijing on May 16, 2013. Samaras is in China seeking investment and trade deals to help revive his country's recession-battered economy. UPI/Stephen Shaver
fark
Write a parking ticket for a widower sitting behind the hearse carrying his wife? You'd better believe...
Florida implements system to allow Florida citizens to call each other terrorists
Explosion on the moon visible from Earth. North Korea scrambling to take credit
Pink Barbie-themed tourist trap objectifies woman, says topless female protestor as she sets fire...
Man pleads guilty to being naked in public, despite the fact he was clearly wearing a blonde wig,...
Photoshop these tenacious trainees